Over 240 students from 17 Berks County teams competed in the 5th Annual Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading Canstructure Contest which concluded last week. The teams held canned food drives and built incredible structures made entirely from the collected food which will be donated to Helping Harvest Food Bank at a student volunteer event on April 9. Canstructure participants and family members will gather at Helping Harvest from 10 am to 1 pm to help pack boxes and get the chance to see how their Canstructure food donations are distributed to the hungry of Berks and Schuylkill counties.
The theme for this year‘s Canstructure Contest was “Favorite Children’s Books.” Penn Bernville Elementary School was the overall competition winner with their build of Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Woods. The Hunger Fighters team from Wilson School District was the contest’s runner up with their build representing The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Videos of all teams’ incredible Canstructures can be viewed on www.yvc-canstructure.org.
In addition to food drives, student teams and corporate sponsors held drives for new children’s books. Through these drives, hundreds of books will be donated to Helping Harvest to support their weekender backpack program. The program, which provides a bag of food for children to take home on Fridays after school for the weekend, will include a donated children’s book as well.
VOiCEup Berks, a fund of Berks County Community Foundation and an affiliate of Youth Volunteer Corps, is a local organization dedicated to connecting all sectors of Berks County to volunteer opportunities through service learning. Formed in 2015, VOiCEup is the collaborative effort of a group of experienced volunteers who are committed to the power of service. As an affiliate of Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC), VOiCEup engages youth ages 11-18 in meaningful community service.
